In French Patent Publication No. 2,312,263, a container for blood discloses a tear seal which comprises a tube passing through the heat seal at the periphery of the container, the tube being sealed at its outer end by a pouch or chamber which is made from the bag material. The pouch or chamber defines a line of tearing weakness which permits the removal of the pouch for access to the tube.
Since it is generally desired for such containers to be sterile prior to opening, and then highly aseptic after opening, a problem exists in the French patent in that non-sterile outer portions of the bag are, after opening of the pouches by tearing away, very close to the exposed outer end of the tube. As a result, an increased risk exists of exposure to the tube to contamination.
Furthermore, the container of the French patent exhibits the characteristic of sequestering blood cells or the like in the inner end of each access tube, because the diaphragm sealing the access tube is positioned outwardly from the inner tube end, providing a chamber capable of retaining a small amount of blood cells during the centrifugation process, to which blood bags are normally subjected during blood processing steps.
The container of this invention provides advantages over the containers of the prior art, coupling easy and optionally complete removal of the outer portion of the sealing pouch, coupled with a better probability of retention of aseptic conditions after opening. Also, the presence of leaks in the seal is more detectable.